Monday, May 7th, 2012 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade

This article is part of a series stretching over several seasons in which a team of referees analyse the work of refs in Premier League matches.

Our figures show that when we analyse the errors made by refs there are consistent trends which do not “even out” through the season, as some commentators would have it.    All the earlier ref reviews plus analyses of the errors made by refs, and articles relating to our campaign to have the body which organises referees activities reformed, plus an analysis of the background to this campaign, can be found on:

• Untold Ref Reviews …
• Untold Corruption …

Although this is a site built for Arsenal supporters we welcome comments from fans of other teams, although we tend not to publish comments which are simply abusive or which are completely off topic.

Today’s referee is Anthony Taylor –

MATCH REVIEW DETAILS – Anthony Taylor (2012-05-05)
Period 1
Min	Type	Foul from	On	C/NC	Comment	Weight
2	GOAL			C	Benayoun, goal okay	3
3	OTHER	Rosicky	Johnson	C	Trip	1
9	OTHER	Holt	Gibbs	NC	Push on defender not given	1
10	OTHER	Gervinho	Lappin	C	Push	1
10	OFFSIDE	Holt		C		1
12	GOAL			C	Hoolahan, goal okay	3
14	OTHER	Lappin	Gervinho	C	Trip/ran into from behind	1
17	OTHER	Holt	Sagna	NC	Push on defender not given	1
19	OFFSIDE	Holt		C		1
20	OFFSIDE	RVP		C		1
20	OTHER	Ramsey	Howson	C	Slid in recklessly from behind, trailing foot took out man	1
20	YELLOW	Ramsey		C	Poor challenge, hard yellow	2
21	OTHER	Hoolahan	Song	NC	Push not given	1
22	OTHER	Johnson	Sagna	C	Trip	1
25	OTHER	Lappin	Sagna	C	Edged in with elbow	1
27	GOAL			C	Holt, goal okay	3
28	OTHER	Holt	Koscielny	NC	Holt called for a foul, but it looked normal	1
29	OTHER	Jackson	Koscielny	NC	Nasty studs to ankle tackle from behind, ref played advantage, but should have stopped play to send off Jackson	1
29	RED	Jackson		NC	Easily could have broken or severely damaged Koscielny’s ankle. Should have been Red, given yellow	3
33	OTHER	Hoolahan	Coquelin	C	Trip/ran into defender, ref has a word, might have been booked	1
38	YELLOW	Benayoun	Lappin	NC	Kicked out at Lappin, should have been booked for his petulance	2
38	YELLOW	Ruddy		NC	Keeper left his net to argue with ref, should have been booked	2
39	OFFSIDE	Holt		C		0
39	OTHER	Johnson	Rosicky	C	Shoved from behind, killed attack	1
39	YELLOW	Johnson		NC	Should have been booked	2
41	OTHER	Koscielny	Holt	C	Both seemed to holding each other, but I’ll give ref benefit of doubt	1
42	PENALTY	Koscielny	Martin	C	Both players were holding each other, no penalty	3
45	OTHER	E Bennett	Ramsey	NC	Backed in under him while up for header, not given	1
45	OTHER	Holt	Coquelin	C	Push	1
48	OTHER		Van Persie	C	Van Persie tried to hold off Martin by shirt and fell, correct no call	1
48	OTHER	Vermaelen	Jackson	C	Won ball but caught player	1
48	YELLOW	Vermaelen		C	Reckless in the challenge, booked	2
Period 2
Min	Type	Foul from	On	C/NC	Comment	Weight
53	OTHER	Koscielny	Holt	NC	Holt was just as guilty of holding, not correct	1
53	OTHER	Ramsey	Naughton	C	Trip, advantage played, perhaps lucky not to get 2nd yellow	1
56	OTHER	E Bennett	Song	C	Trip	1
57	PENALTY	Holt	Koscielny	NC	Hung himself over Koscielny like a cheap suit, not given	3
58	YELLOW	Norwich?		NC	Coqueling wants to take a throw and he pushes the ball out of his hand from behind so it drops to the floor	2
59	OFFSIDE	Van Persie		NC	Just off, could have scored	1
60	OTHER	Hoolahan	Gibbs	C	Shove	1
60	YELLOW	Hoolahan		C	Threw ball away to delay restart	2
61	OTHER	Howson	Benayoun	C	Pulled down so couldn’t participate in counter	1
61	YELLOW	Howson		NC	Should have been booked	2
65	OTHER	Hoolahan	Rosicky	C	Trip	1
67	OFFSIDE			C	RVP correctly called onside	1
68	OTHER	Rosicky	Jackson	C	Shove	1
71	OTHER	Holt	Vermaelen	C	Push	1
71				C	Ball was moving when Vermaelen took free kick, made to retake it	1
72	OFFSIDE			C	RVP correctly called onside	1
72	GOAL			C	RVPbeat offside trap, goal okay	3
74	OTHER	Lappin		NC	Raised arm to block AOC’s cross into the area, ref only gives corner	1
74	PENALTY	Lappin		NC	Way he raised arm is intentional, should have been a spot kick	3
75	OFFSIDE	Morison		C	Assumed correct	1
76	OTHER	Holt	Song	C	Trip	1
76	YELLOW	E Bennett		NC	Picked up ball and walked off with it, should have been booked	2
77	OFFSIDE	Arsenal		C	TV showing replays, not sure what was called against Arsenal, possibly offside but ref did not raise arm on ensuing free kick	1
78	OTHER	Morison	Coquelin	C	Shove	1
80	GOAL	Van Persie		C	Goal okay	3
85	GOAL	Morison		C	Goal okay	3
87	OFFSIDE	Van Persie		C	RVP correctly called onside	1
89	OFFSIDE	Gervinho		NC	Offside and tried to play ball, negates penalty shout by RVP	1
91	OTHER	Song	Morison	NC	Obstruction, not given	1
92	OTHER	Wilbraham	Koscielny	NC	Threw elbow into Koscielny’s face	1
92	RED	Wilbraham		NC	Should have been sent off for violent play	3
92	OTHER	Wilbraham	Koscielny	C	Smashed forearm into Koscielny’s head, got away with it 40 seconds earlier so he tried it again	1
92	RED	Wilbraham		NC	Twice in less than one minute he should have been sent off for violent play, ref only books him	3
94	OTHER	Morison	Koscielny	C	Foul	1

Anthony Taylor from Manchester was the ref with Lee Probert taking duties as the 4th official.

Early in the match there was a goal apiece from each side suggesting that this match would be rather open affair.

Aaron Ramsey was the first to go into the book for a late tackle from behind on Jonny Howson.  It wasn’t going to be the best of days for the young Welshman and he can consider himself lucky not to have picked up a 2nd yellow in the 53rd minute for a late trip on Naughton.

While Ramsey’s challenges were poor, the worst tackle of the match belonged to Simeon Jackson.  In the 29th minute, Norwich striker should have been sent off for a studs to ankle lunge from behind on Koscielny.  This could have easily broken or severely damaged Koscielny’s ankle and I consider him fortunate that he was able to carry on and put in a solid hard fought 90+ minutes . If all goes well you can see the tackle if you click on the following link. 

Jackson on Koscielny

After seeing it twice take a look at Jackson his left leg also and not just the right one. He sure was determined to bring him down and bring him down good.

Norwich had a penalty shout in the 42nd minute when Russell Martin and Laurent Koscielny tangled up in the area, but It looked that both players were holding each other and thus no penalty.  This is best seen from the replay angle from behind the goal.

Sagna went off in the first half with a broken fibula, under a challenge by Bradley Johnson.  Some have speculated that this occurred because Johnson stamped on Sagna, but if you look closely, Sagna’s slid to ground play the ball and his foot hit Johnson’s right foot or ankle.  Johnson, feeling the contact immediately tried to shift his weight off of his right foot to his left foot, and that left foot came down on Sagna.  It looked unintentional to me.

Arsenal had several penalty shouts in the match of which none were given, making it that Arsenal went 19 premier league matches at home without being awarded a single penalty.  Scandalous when you consider the type of football Arsenal play and of all the penalty shouts they have had this season.

In the 57th minute Holt hung all over Koscielny like a cheap suit.  Benayoun got a head to the ball which may have taken the ref’s attention away from Koscielny, but he was being held by Holt and was being prevented from playing the ball.

Later in the half, Simon Lappin blocked an AOC cross into the area with his arm.  He was aware that Chamberlain was going to cross the ball and he raised his arm to meet the ball.  It was a deliberate motion of hand to ball and should have been a penalty.

And in the dying minutes Robin was shoved in the area in what looked like a denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, however Gervinho was offside on the play and attempted to shoot the ball before it got to Van Persie.  Therefore I ruled out any penalty shout due to Gervinho being offside.

Aaron Wilbraham was a late substitute in the match and made his mark unceremoniously.  He easily could have been sent off twice.  First for throwing an elbow on Koscielny, and 40 seconds later leading with his forearm against Koscielny, both offences occurring in the 92nd minute.

COMPETENCY SUMMARY – Anthony Taylor (2012-05-05)
Period 1	Called	Total	Correct %
GOAL	3	3	100.00
OFFSIDE	4	4	100.00
OTHER	12	18	66.67
PENALTY	1	1	100.00
RED	0	1	0.00
YELLOW	2	5	40.00
TOTAL	22	32	68.75
WEIGHTED	32	47	68.09
Period 2	Called	Total	Correct %
	1	1	100.00
GOAL	3	3	100.00
OFFSIDE	5	7	71.43
OTHER	11	15	73.33
PENALTY	0	2	0.00
RED	0	2	0.00
YELLOW	1	4	25.00
TOTAL	21	34	61.76
WEIGHTED	28	52	53.85
Totals	Called	Total	Correct %
	1	1	100.00
GOAL	6	6	100.00
OFFSIDE	9	11	81.82
OTHER	23	33	69.70
PENALTY	1	3	33.33
RED	0	3	0.00
YELLOW	3	9	33.33
TOTAL	43	66	65.15
WEIGHTED	60	99	60.61

A rather poor overall display by the ref. Low numbers overall.  In fact if it wouldn’t have been for the 6 goals he would have ended up below 50%.

BIAS SUMMARY – Anthony Taylor (2012-05-05)
Period 1	Arsenal	%	Norwich City	%	Total
Correct For	10	47.62	11	52.38	21
Correct For Weighted	14	45.16	17	54.84	31
Incorrect Against	8	80.00	2	20.00	10
Incorrect Against Weighted	12	80.00	3	20.00	15
Fouls Commited	5	31.25	11	68.75	16
Fouls Penalised	5	100.00	6	54.55	11
Period 2	Arsenal	%	Norwich City	%	Total
Correct For	18	78.26	5	21.74	23
Correct For Weighted	25	78.13	7	21.88	32
Incorrect Against	8	72.73	3	27.27	11
Incorrect Against Weighted	17	85.00	3	15.00	20
Fouls Commited	3	20.00	12	80.00	15
Fouls Penalised	2	66.67	9	75.00	11
Totals	Arsenal	%	Norwich City	%	Total
Correct For	28	63.64	16	36.36	44
Correct For Weighted	39	61.90	24	38.10	63
Incorrect Against	16	76.19	5	23.81	21
Incorrect Against Weighted	29	82.86	6	17.14	35
Fouls Commited	8	25.81	23	74.19	31
Fouls Penalised	7	87.50	15	65.22	22

Over 20 wrong decisions in this game for the ref. A high number and when you put weight to it the numbers for Arsenal become even more bad.

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